LaGrange finds its identity on offense

It took the LaGrange football program several years to find a
stable conference. The Panthers have found their home in the USA
South. With a first-year offensive coordinator and quarterback, the
Panthers have also found their identity. Under new play-caller Matt
Mumme, transfer quarterback Graham Craig is leading the nation in
passing yards and is second in total offense.

After averaging just 19.6 points per game in 2012, the Panthers
have nearly doubled that through five games in 2013. Led by
Craig’s 389.6 passing yards per game, LaGrange is averaging
36.4 points per game. The team is just one win away from equaling
its win total from a year ago and is 2-1 in conference play.

“I think, as coaches, sometimes we all worry about making
changes,” said LaGrange head coach Todd Mooney. “We
felt like we needed to jumpstart our offense. The energy has been
great.”

Mumme, the son of former McMurry coach Hal Mumme, was the
offensive coordinator for the War Hawks when their offense lit up
Division III defenses. After spending the last two years at
Davidson College, the younger Mumme brought his high-octane offense
to LaGrange.

“It is a lot of fun playing at this tempo and throwing it
around,” said Craig. “This offense is very fun and
we’re getting better each week.”

Five different receivers have at least 15 receptions. Freshman
Ervens Oge leads the team with 91.4 receiving yards per game, while
Griffin Roelle leads the team with eight touchdown receptions.
Marsalis Jackson has six touchdown receptions. Craig has tossed 19
touchdowns, with eight interceptions.

Airing it out

For LaGrange, changing
offenses meant a completely different style. The 2013 Panthers
surpassed last year's team total passing yards in the third game of
the season.

Year

G

Yds

Avg.

2013

5

1953

390.6

2012

10

1093

109.3

“In this offense, you really don’t notice [the big
numbers],” said Craig. “My job is to get the ball in
the hands of our playmakers. Our wide receivers have done a great
job all year of making plays.”

Craig, a junior, transferred this year from Division II Valdosta
State University. Growing up in Alabama, he was aware of Division
III football, but the programs in his region were just starting up.
There are only two Division III schools in Alabama, two in
Mississippi, two in Georgia, one in Louisiana, and none in Florida.
Most have begun playing football in the past decade. His academic
success as a student-athlete kept Division III on his mind, even
after he committed to a bigger football program.

“I had good grades in high school,” said Craig.
“Division III schools are all really strong academically. The
LaGrange program was just getting started when I was in high
school, but it was one of the first programs I contacted when I
decided to transfer.”

The timing could not have been better. The Panthers needed an
offensive coordinator and Mumme took the job in February. Craig
joined the program in August.

“It was one of those right place, right time
things,” said Mooney.

The trio -- head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterback
-- clicked right away. Together, they are leading a young squad.
There are several freshmen playing important roles in the offense.
They have developed along with their junior quarterback.

“I hit it off really well with Coach Mooney and Coach
Mumme,” said Craig. “The offense was not too hard to
pick up. We took it slow in camp, which helped us pick it
up.”

Craig played in a similar offense at Valdosta State, although
not quite at the tempo that Mumme prefers. The transition has been
seamless. Mooney saw Craig quarterbacking a similar style at
Valdosta State and knew what he was getting in his new
signal-caller.

“When you see a college football player on film, you get a
pretty good evaluation on tape,” said Mooney. “We are
able to see how Graham would fit into our system.”

There is only one opponent that has been on LaGrange’s
schedule in each of its eight seasons. The Panthers have defeated
Huntingdon just once, in 2008. The two teams endured years of
independence, but now find themselves as conference foes for the
first time since 2008. That year, the two southern programs joined
the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as football-only
members. The SLIAC decided that it would not sponsor football the
following year, and the Panthers and Hawks soon found themselves as
conference vagabonds again.

“There’s no easy way around it,” said Mooney.
“Scheduling as an independent is a nightmare.”

Last year, LaGrange joined the USA South. This year, Huntingdon
followed. Joining the conference took more than football into
consideration. Shortly after the SLIAC folded, LaGrange began to
explore its options. The dean and president of the college looked
for the best academic fit that was willing to take on a new member.
They also wanted stability after the SLIAC debacle.

“Our president did a lot of hard work to get us in the USA
South,” said Mooney. “It is a great fit in a very
prestigious conference. When we started the process in 2009, we
wanted a conference that would be home for LaGrange and a
conference that wouldn’t go away.”

The Panthers went 3-4 in league play in their first season in
the USA South, tied for fifth in the eight team league. With the
Hawks added as a ninth member, there should be even more parity in
the conference this season. LaGrange knocked off eventual
conference champion Christopher Newport last season.

“From top to bottom, there are a lot of really good,
competitive football programs,” said Mooney. “That is
very rewarding for our conference. For us and what we do,
we’ve got to be prepared to stand up physically and mentally
for all ten games.”

Joining a stable and competitive conference provides many
benefits, other than just the opportunity to earn a Pool A playoff
berth. Scheduling becomes much easier. Travel is still a challenge
for a program that does not have many Division III neighbors, but
at least now the Panthers and Hawks know what to expect when making
travel plans. One of the biggest benefits is an expanded recruiting
base. While it helps that there are very few Division III
competitors in the deep south, LaGrange and Huntingdon should
benefit from being a constant presence in North Carolina and
Virginia for years to come.

“There certainly is an awful lot of talent down in this
region,” said Mooney. “In the past, our recruiting
focused on Georgia, with Florida, east Tennessee, and Alabama.
We’re starting to work our way up. The conference has really
helped us start to lay inroads in bigger cities and opening up new
territories for us.”

Also attracting a new wave of recruits is the Panthers’
high-flying offense. Mumme’s system is an immediate draw for
offensive playmakers. When they see the numbers that newcomers are
putting up this year, high school athletes will want to have their
hand in LaGrange’s offense.

“It’s been good for everybody and it’s been
great for recruiting,” said Mooney. “Matt has created
an atmosphere that is exciting. The kids are excited to go to
practice each day.”

LaGrange is finding its footing. It will take four wins in its
final five games to earn the program’s second winning season,
and first since 2008. More importantly, the program has stability
with its conference and an identity with its offense. The rest is
up to the players.

“We’re writing our traditions right now,” said
Craig. “We can look back on the program years from now and
say, ‘we helped build that.’”

Notables

Everyone expects Hampden-Sydney to have a potent offense, so
it’s little surprise that Holton Walker leads the nation with
154.6 receiving yards per game. What may come as more of a surprise
is the Tigers’ defense, which is tied for fourth in the
nation, allowing just 215.4 yards per game. The Tigers are getting
it done in all phases, as special
teams keyed the 28-7 win over ODAC rival Bridgewater.

Emory and Henry finds itself in a familiar hole, in danger of
dropping its first three ODAC games of the season. Washington and
Lee held on for a 21-17 win over the Wasps.

Guilford lit up Shenandoah’s defense, led by quarterback
Matt Pawlowski’s 26-31, 360-yard, six-touchdown,
zero-interception day. Adam Smith caught four passes for 148 yards
and two touchdowns in the 56-29 rout.

Joining Hampden-Sydney and Guilford atop the ODAC is
Randolph-Macon. The Yellow Jackets have won four straight games,
and the season-opening loss to No. 15 Johns Hopkins looks better
every time the Blue Jays dominate another opponent. Will McGhee has
rushed for 357 yards in Randolph-Macon’s two ODAC victories,
and currently ranks eighth in the nation in total rushing
yards.

Shenandoah, at 2-3, is the only ODAC team with an overall losing
record at the season’s midway points. As Keith has coined in
his Around the
Nation posts and in the weekly Around
the Nation podcast, the ODAC keeps getting ODACier. The
conference is so balanced, it has become an adjective.

Maryville held off LaGrange, 47-35, behind 255 passing yards and
108 rushing yards from Evan Pittenger. The Scots are now alone in
first place in the USA South -- which is competitive, but has not
yet reached adjective status -- at 3-0 in the conference.
Huntingdon is 2-0 in its first year as a conference member. The
Scots travel to Newport News to take on defending champion
Christopher Newport on Saturday night. The Captains’ only
loss this season was to Methodist, which has a bye this week.

Wesley faces its last Division III test of the month when it
travels to Rowan on Saturday. Newcomer Alfred State is the only
other Division III opponent remaining on the Wolverines’
schedule.

The Centennial Conference returns after a league-wide bye week.
Ursinus and Johns Hopkins are undefeated and tied at the top. The
two teams meet on Nov. 2. Ursinus last started this hot in 2010,
when the Bears won their first seven games before dropping two
straight on the road. After hosting Juniata this weekend, the Bears
close out the season with three of their final four contests on the
road.

A key stat that has Ursinus and Johns Hopkins at a combined
10-0: each team is converting over half of its third downs. Ursinus
ranks fifth in the nation at a 0.575 clip, while the Blue Jays are
one spot behind at 0.557. Right behind Johns Hopkins is conference
foe Gettysburg at 0.556. The Bulletts are 2-2 in league play and
3-2 overall, losing to Ursinus in the conference opener and
awaiting Johns Hopkins on October 26.

Franklin and Marshall, 3-2 (3-1), lost to Ursinus on Sept. 21,
but will still have something to say about the Centennial finish.
The Diplomats close the season at Johns Hopkins and at home against
Gettysburg. Muhlenberg, Dickinson, and Juniata -- each 2-2 in the
conference -- could easily expand what is shaping up to be a
four-team race.

What Did I Miss? Do you know about any
upcoming milestones, big games or new names in the Mid-Atlantic?
Please share them with me. If you have suggestions for next week's
column, please reach out to me on Twitter at @adamturer or via
email at adam.turer@d3sports.com.

Adam Turer graduated in 2006 from Washington and Lee University, where he was a two-year starter at free safety. He lives in Cincinnati and covers area high school sports in addition to his full-time job as an attorney. Adam has contributed to D3football.com since 2007 and is in his third season as Around the Mid-Atlantic columnist.